20 years of Vinzimarkt
“Nobody leaves the store hungry”
20 years ago, a department store in Graz-Eggenberg became the first Vinzimarkt. A place to go for anyone who is short of cash. But while more and more people have to resort to the offer in times of crisis, the struggle for food donations is getting tougher and tougher. A visit to the store.
"I started shopping here two years ago," says Heinz Reicher. He pushes a shopping cart in front of him - containing a few basic groceries such as milk and eggs. What does he want to buy today? "Let's see, there's something different here every day. Besides, more and more people want a slice of the cake, even if it stays the same size."
The symbolic cake that Reicher is talking about is what is on offer at the Vinzimarkt in Karl-Morre-Straße 9 in Graz. Because only rejected goods are sold here, the social institution relies on donations from supermarkets, bakeries and major donors. However: "Since the many crises, supermarkets have been calculating their stocks more tightly and have less left over at the end of the day. We have been particularly short of fruit and vegetables recently," says Sigrid Wimmer, manager of the two Graz Vinzimarkt stores.
Under these tougher conditions, the special grocery store is celebrating its 20th anniversary these days. Founded in 2004, Wimmer took over the management in 2017 after helping out on a voluntary basis for over ten years. Since then, the foster mother and family educator has been working non-stop: "I'm there for everyone 24/7. The only thing that matters to me is that the customers are well and that we have enough goods." However, the latter is becoming increasingly difficult. Economic challenges are forcing retailers to calculate better, and more and more food is being saved instead of thrown away. They are currently grateful for every additional donation.
Meter-long queues even before opening
In addition to the shrinking supply, demand is also increasing. "When we open on Thursday at 1 p.m., there are already 40 to 50 people queuing, even at 11 a.m. there are already 20," says Wimmer. "We often open earlier, especially when it's cold or raining, so I can't look away."
On a regular weekday, when the Vinzimarkt opens between 8 and 8.30 am, Wimmer's work starts at 6 am. After the first errands, they have breakfast together at 7 a.m. before the first goods arrive at 7.30 a.m. "Today we've already had blood sausage and pork sausage from Messner," says Wimmer. Together with her team, she sits in the kitchenette and is visibly delighted with this bargain. "And we got bread from Martin Auer and the Wurm bakery."
Sitting at the table with her is Heinz Kirchsteiger. He is a founding member of the Vinzigemeinschaft Eggenberg and has been there from the very beginning. In fact, he is the son of the family who converted their department store into the first Vinzimarkt 20 years ago. "Our store was called the Kastner and Öhler of Eggenberg, it had been in the family for 45 years at that time," says Kirchsteiger. Two alleys away from the current store, they became the model for the ten Vinzimarkt stores that now exist in Austria. The first Vinzishop was also founded in the same year.
Based on the philosophy of the priest Wolfgang Pucher, the Vinzimärkte see themselves as social institutions - not supermarkets. "I do everything from procurement to talking to customers," says Wimmer, "office work isn't really mine at all." The aim is to help the poorer members of our society as unbureaucratically as possible - anyone with a monthly income of less than 1250 euros can shop here at a reasonable price. This includes single parents, pensioners, people from Ukraine, but also young families who recently belonged to the middle class. "Nobody leaves the store hungry," emphasizes Wimmer.
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